Judges 3:1, 2 “Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known the wars of Canaan: Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;”

The Lord is teaching us that warfare would be necessary to the people of God. There were a number of reasons yet each soldier has to decide for himself. As Americans let alone Christians we have a great heritage but war will remain and therefore the need for the soldier will remain. In our text we notice those who never experienced war needed to learn to fight. God left adversaries in the land for these reasons;

To reveal to them freedom is not free. It has a price tag and there must be a willing to pay the price if you want to enjoy freedom. If we don’t prepare to fight for our rights we will lose them.

To help them appreciate the sacrifice of their Father’s, men like Joshua and Caleb who were willing to stand when others chose to run. The history of our country is filled with men and women who have laid down their lives for our freedom and many others suffered greatly from permanent wounds that they would carry the rest of their lives. As one soldier who came home from battle said, “All gave much, and many gave all”. It would be good for us to remember George Washington and his few men crossing over Valley Forge, in the bitter cold of winter, on Christmas day, many of the men had no boots and wound their feet up with cloth to walk through the freezing waters that night. It was a victory that proved to be the turning point of the revolutionary war. At the time of that battle plan the Americans were at their lowest point in moral. Many of the men had given up and went home or defected but thank God some pressed on! Show some gratitude to the American flag!

It would produce in them a watchful eye for the adversary. We ought to be watchful concerning the adversaries of our freedoms. They have not left us and will not, but rather they are waiting for you and I to let down our guard just long enough for them to take advantage of us and defeat us.

It would make them courageous. With courage there is honor and without an adversary there is no need for courage. Without courage we cannot defeat our adversaries. Courage stems from preparation. The prepared man is the confident man. We ought to be building our military and encouraging our soldiers. We ought to be preparing ourselves spiritually for the enemy of our homes and families.

It would produce the need for faith. The faith of our fathers is what brought the blessing of God upon Israel and it is what brought the blessing of God upon America. Nothing will create a desire to believe in the Almighty like looking death in the face. Thank God for our veterans, men and women who have served our country and defended it, may God Bless you!